Balgruuf the Greater was the Jarl of Whiterun, and a direct descendant of King Olaf One-Eye. An admirer of the Greybeards, Balgruuf made the pilgrimage to High Hrothgar in his youth. He carried on a rivalry with Ulfric Stormcloak since they both were young. He had multiple children, including Frothar, Dagny, and the youngest Nelkir. While considered to be an honorable warrior who put his heart and soul into his service, he was also not considered a patient man. Following the White-Gold Concordat, which Balgruuf had no influence in negotiating, he was purportedly given chests of gold and told to accept the terms. However, he continued worshipping Talos privately, and according to Nelkir, hated the Thalmor as passionately as the Stormcloaks. For more information, see the lore article.

Baloth Bloodtusk was an Orc hero and leader of the Savage Sons. Baloth played a crucial role during the Siege of Orsinium in 1E 950. Initially, he did not wish to take part in the war or join King Golkarr. During the siege, King Joile of Daggerfall sent him a letter in which proposed he join him instead. Although King Joile was allied with Gaiden Shinji, he had already planned to betray him and invade Hammerfell after having destroyed Orsinium. He and his Reachman general, Mercedene, manipulated Baloth Bloodtusk and Shinji into having a duel over Orsinium's fate. During the duel, Mercedene ordered Joile's archers to kill both combatants, effectively removing the most powerful warriors of both Orsinium and the Order of Diagna for Joile. After their death, both warriors were buried in Honor's Rest in Wrothgar.

Barbas is the Hound of Clavicus Vile. He is a shapeshifting Daedra, although he most commonly takes on the form of a dog. Barbas acts as a repository for half of Vile's power. According to Vile, he likes being a dog—as well as many other things—on sunny days. "When he's like this, I think he's somewhere else. It's all quite significant, of course... But who knows what it means." Although Vile is always depicted along with Barbas, the Prince often grows tired of him and abandons him. While Barbas seems to be subservient to Clavicus Vile, he also often warns people against Vile's plots, suggesting he has some discretion and free will. He sometimes takes the form of a musically talented scamp merchant named Creeper.

In 2E 582, a novice Altmer mage named Pircalmo was hired by the Bosmer inhabitants of Willowgrove to clear the nearby forest. However, Pircalmo's ability with magic was limited by his constant mistakes. Before attempting to cast his spell, the mage wished for it to "work well". Unbeknownst to him, his wish was granted by Vile, who had an ancient and forgotten altar inside a nearby cavern. Pircalmo's spell "worked" in that it summoned a horde of dangerous atronachs to burn down the forest. Having seemingly failed the contract, Pircalmo's wife was duly taken by the local Bosmer to be killed and eaten. Fortunately, the Soulless One discovered the altar, which Barbas had been inexplicably bound to due to the mage's wish. The Soulless One then smashed the altar, freeing Barbas and dispelling the atronachs before Pircalmo's wife could be harmed. That same year, Barbas appeared as Creeper when an Orc merchant named Zagrugh summoned a scamp to act as his assistant. Zagrugh ran a general store beneath the city of Mournhold, in a Dunmeri ancestral crypt which had been taken over by outlaws. He had hoped that a summoned Daedra would be more loyal than his previous assistants, who had all stolen from him. Mysteriously, Zagrugh was later found dead, and Creeper stepped in to manage the store.

Around 2E 583, Barbas and his master carried out an elaborate plot to gain access to the Clockwork City. They used a powerful staff created by Sotha Sil, Sunna'rah, to steal Vivec's divine energy and use it to discover the city's location. They succeeded, and Barbas entered the City to arrange Clavicus Vile's arrival, but was stopped by the Soulless One and the mage Barilzar, who pursued him into the City.

When Cyrus visited Vile's realm in 2E 864, Barbas showed a fondness for the Redguard and shapeshifted his face to imitate Cyrus'. Circa 3E 427, Barbas took on the form of Creeper to live and trade with a group of Orcs in Caldera, Morrowind. In 3E 433, Vile tasked the Champion of Cyrodiil with recovering the Umbra Sword. Barbas foresaw the ruin that the sword would bring to Vile's realm of Oblivion, and left Vile's side to manifest as a dog statuette. Through the statuette, Barbas communicated with the Champion in an attempt to dissuade the Champion from bringing Vile the sword, although this attempt proved futile. Umbra later stole much of Vile's power and created Umbriel, leaving the Prince's realm crippled. When Sul and Prince Attrebus Mede visited Vile's realm circa 4E 40 to bargain with the Prince, Barbas helped in negotiations.

By 4E 201, Vile had forsaken Barbas out of annoyance. Barbas, in the form of a dog, was left wandering the Pine Forest of Skyrim. This limited the Prince's power, making it so that he could only manifest in Tamriel close to one of his shrines. Residents of Falkreath took notice of the stray mutt, and when the Last Dragonborn approached him, Barbas revealed his identity and asked the Dragonborn to help him reconcile with Clavicus. The two journeyed to the Prince's shrine in Haemar's Shame. After killing off the vampire worshippers, Vile had the Dragonborn retrieve the Rueful Axe, an artifact of the Prince. Vile then presented the Dragonborn with a choice: keep the axe and kill Barbas in his mortal form, banishing him for a few centuries and allowing Vile to use his full power; or continue with the original deal, forcing the Prince to take both the axe and Barbas back. It is unknown which option the Dragonborn chose.

The Mad God Sheogorath dislikes Barbas, and may have plans to kill him with hemlock.

Queen Barenziah is one of the most famous figures of the Third Era. She became the first Queen of Morrowind, a vassal ruler to the Emperor of Tamriel. Her consort was Symmachus, former general of Emperor Tiber Septim (and the Emperor himself was rumored to be one of Barenziah's former lovers). Though her position was largely ceremonial for most of the Third Era, the couple were said to be popular with the people of Morrowind. The Queen was considered a loyal vassal throughout the era, and sided against Uriel Septim III and Queen Potema during the War of the Red Diamond circa 3E 120. However, circa 3E 391, she went into exile due to unrest in her province. Symmachus was killed in a riot, and she was forced to abdicate her throne to her uncle Athyn Llethan. Of all her adventures, she is most well-known for going on to help thwart the impostor Jagar Tharn and bring about an end to the Imperial Simulacrum by 3E 399. She married King Eadwyre of Wayrest, who she had forged a bond with while working to defeat Tharn and free the captive Emperor Uriel Septim VII. In 3E 417, she and Eadwyre were among the political leaders of the Iliac Bay who sought to acquire the Totem of Tiber Septim from an agent of the Blades, and who benefited greatly from the ensuing Miracle of Peace, or "Warp in the West". Barenziah claimed ignorance on what exactly transpired during this mysterious two-day phenomenon. Several years later, when Eadwyre died, she returned to Morrowind, where her son Prince Helseth soon became King, while she took on the title of Queen Mother. Her other child, Princess Morgiah, had already gone on to become Queen of Firsthold. She may have had other children, one of many disputed facets of her life. For more information, see the lore article.

The son of the Empress Alessia and her consort, Morihaus, and one of the first minotaurs.[2] Belharza succeeded his mother as ruler of the Alessian Empire upon her death in 1E 266. Little is known about the emperor's life and reign as most records of the period were destroyed following the rise of the Alessian Order.[2] Private correspondence between Belharza and Alessia is held in the Library of Dusk in Coldharbour, though its contents are unspecified.[3] A surviving document from an Alessian Order sect indirectly implies that Belharza was troubled by large Ayleid hordes.[4] One controversial interpretation of an ancient tablet fragment called the Belharza Stone asserts that the precursors of the xenophobic Order may have openly clashed with Belharza, and violently purged the minotaurs from the Empire.[2]

Archmaster of House Redoran who resided in Ald'ruhn during the years prior to the destruction of Dagoth Ur.[9] He was renowned as a strong, ruthless leader, credited for securing Redoran holdings during the opening of Vvardenfell, and for moving the Council to Ald'ruhn. He was killed in a duel after refusing to name an outlander as Hortator.[10]

Borgas of Winterhold was a Nordic High King and the last in the line of the Ysgramor dynasty. He is also believed to have been the last monarch to wear the legendary Jagged Crown. During his reign, he outlawed the traditional Nordic pantheon of deities in favor of doctrine based on the Alessian Order in Skyrim. This act would become known as the "shadow of King Borgas" and lasted for over a hundred years until it was violently reversed by High King Wulfharth.

He was also one of Marukh's chief supporters, however as the prophet's teaching began to spread, hostility grew between the Camoran Dynasty of Valenwood and the Empire. Borgas traveled to Cyrodiil to urge a joint war against the Bosmer, but fell victim to Valenwood's infamous Wild Hunt in 1E 369. Eric of Guis wrote that he was killed for the "iniquities" of his Alessian faith. His body was secretly returned to Skyrim and buried with the Jagged Crown in the Nordic tomb of Korvanjund.

Bramman and other brigands used the swamplands of Black Marsh to disappear without recourse after raiding the easily accessible riches of the Empire. Bramman established a bandit kingdom deep within the swamps, near the site of the future city of Blackrose. It was connected to Topal Bay by a narrow, winding river that emptied into the Bay near Soulrest, and was shrouded from view by mangroves. According to Imperial accounts, Bramman and similar human brigands were the first contact most Argonians had with Imperial civilisation. They raped, pillaged, and enslaved the natives, causing Argonians to become skittish of the Alessian Empire.

In 1E 1033, Empress Hestra demanded Red Bramman's head. After many unsuccessful battles in Topal Bay, the Imperial Navy discovered Bramman's river and sent a fleet to catch Bramman in his brigand kingdom in what became known as the Raid of Red Bramman. His head was brought before the Empress, but more importantly the fleet's expedition resulted in the Empire's first reliable accounts of Argonian culture. The Imperials attempted to settle along the pirate routes and were successful in driving the pirates out of Black Marsh, but the province was largely left alone until its eventual conquering by the Second Empire centuries later.

A little-known member of the Reman Dynasty who succeeded Reman II and preceded Reman III. He reportedly had a habit of personally leading combat from the vanguard of his forces.[12] Disinterested in matters of state, Brazollus Dor spent most of his reign at his country estate near Skingrad, preferring to let his Potentate Sidri-Ashak run almost all of the Empire's affairs. This has been noted as Dor's only wise decision, for Sidri-Ashak proved to be a particularly adept administrator.[13]

The destruction of the city was an act of revenge by his former mistress, Turala. The Duke banished her upon discovering that she was pregnant with his child, and she wandered across Tamriel until ending up in Phrygias, High Rock where she joined the Skeffington Coven of witches. When the coven was destroyed, she was tricked into believing that the Duke was responsible and invoked Dagon to take revenge.

The Duke is commemorated by the plaza that bears his name in the rebuilt city of Mournhold.

A highly skilled Blades agent and sister of the leader of the Blades at the time, who is only known as the Great Knight.[15] She was a friend of Ulvius Tero, the Blades Archivist and author of The Warp in the West, and played a substantial role in that strange event (she was in or near Wayrest when the event occurred). She was in the employ of the Queen Mother Mynisera when she was still queen of Daggerfall. In that function she was also the contact person between Mynisera and Emperor Uriel Septim VII. Her official status was that of an ambassador of the Emperor, but it was an open secret that she was an emissary of the Blades in Daggerfall. After Lysandus' son Gothryd ascended the throne of Daggerfall, she went into hiding.[14] She has evidently caught some of the public's imagination, as she's featured as a character in the popular historical fiction Mystery of Talara.